Type Design for Performance

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Designing new types and APIs
• Reviewing code for performance issues
• Choosing between class, struct, and record
• Working with collections and enumerables

Core Principles

1. Seal your types - Unless explicitly designed for inheritance
2. Prefer readonly structs - For small, immutable value types
3. Prefer static pure functions - Better performance and testability
4. Defer enumeration - Don't materialize until you need to
5. Return immutable collections - From API boundaries

Seal Classes by Default

Sealing classes enables JIT devirtualization and communicates API intent.

// DO: Seal classes not designed for inheritance
public sealed class OrderProcessor
{
    public void Process(Order order) { }
}

// DO: Seal records (they're classes)
public sealed record OrderCreated(OrderId Id, CustomerId CustomerId);

// DON'T: Leave unsealed without reason
public class OrderProcessor  // Can be subclassed - intentional?
{
    public virtual void Process(Order order) { }  // Virtual = slower
}

Benefits:

• JIT can devirtualize method calls
• Communicates "this is not an extension point"
• Prevents accidental breaking changes

Readonly Structs for Value Types

Structs should be readonly when immutable. This prevents defensive copies.

// DO: Readonly struct for immutable value types
public readonly record struct OrderId(Guid Value)
{
    public static OrderId New() => new(Guid.NewGuid());
    public override string ToString() => Value.ToString();
}

// DO: Readonly struct for small, short-lived data
public readonly struct Money
{
    public decimal Amount { get; }
    public string Currency { get; }

    public Money(decimal amount, string currency)
    {
        Amount = amount;
        Currency = currency;
    }
}

// DON'T: Mutable struct (causes defensive copies)
public struct Point  // Not readonly!
{
    public int X { get; set; }  // Mutable!
    public int Y { get; set; }
}

When to Use Structs

Prefer Static Pure Functions

Static methods with no side effects are faster and more testable.

// DO: Static pure function
public static class OrderCalculator
{
    public static Money CalculateTotal(IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> items)
    {
        var total = items.Sum(i => i.Price * i.Quantity);
        return new Money(total, "USD");
    }
}

// Usage - predictable, testable
var total = OrderCalculator.CalculateTotal(items);

Benefits:

• No vtable lookup (faster)
• No hidden state
• Easier to test (pure input → output)
• Thread-safe by design
• Forces explicit dependencies

// DON'T: Instance method hiding dependencies
public class OrderCalculator
{
    private readonly ITaxService _taxService;  // Hidden dependency
    private readonly IDiscountService _discountService;  // Hidden dependency

    public Money CalculateTotal(IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> items)
    {
        // What does this actually depend on?
    }
}

// BETTER: Explicit dependencies via parameters
public static class OrderCalculator
{
    public static Money CalculateTotal(
        IReadOnlyList<OrderItem> items,
        decimal taxRate,
        decimal discountPercent)
    {
        // All inputs visible
    }
}

Don't go overboard - Use instance methods when you genuinely need state or polymorphism.

Defer Enumeration

Don't materialize enumerables until necessary. Avoid excessive LINQ chains.

// BAD: Premature materialization
public IReadOnlyList<Order> GetActiveOrders()
{
    return _orders
        .Where(o => o.IsActive)
        .ToList()  // Materialized!
        .OrderBy(o => o.CreatedAt)  // Another iteration
        .ToList();  // Materialized again!
}

// GOOD: Defer until the end
public IReadOnlyList<Order> GetActiveOrders()
{
    return _orders
        .Where(o => o.IsActive)
        .OrderBy(o => o.CreatedAt)
        .ToList();  // Single materialization
}

// GOOD: Return IEnumerable if caller might not need all items
public IEnumerable<Order> GetActiveOrders()
{
    return _orders
        .Where(o => o.IsActive)
        .OrderBy(o => o.CreatedAt);
    // Caller decides when to materialize
}

Async Enumeration

Be careful with async and IEnumerable:

// BAD: Async in LINQ - hidden allocations
var results = orders
    .Select(async o => await ProcessOrderAsync(o))  // Task per item!
    .ToList();
await Task.WhenAll(results);

// GOOD: Use IAsyncEnumerable for streaming
public async IAsyncEnumerable<OrderResult> ProcessOrdersAsync(
    IEnumerable<Order> orders,
    [EnumeratorCancellation] CancellationToken ct = default)
{